• Complete Release (pdf)

SODEXO TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.
   • Webcast for all games: www.PennAtlantic.com
   • Livestats for all games: http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball/index.htm

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19 --
Dixie State vs. Western Washington, 3:00 p.m. PST
Cal State East Bay vs. Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20 --
Cal State East Bay vs. Western Washington, 3:00 p.m. PST
Dixie State vs. Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST

The much-anticipated 2010-11 regular season begins this weekend for the 10th-ranked Seattle Pacific men's basketball team (0-0), which hosts the four-team Sodexo Tip-Off Classic at Brougham Pavilion. Men's basketball doubleheaders take place both days, Friday, Nov. 19 and Saturday, Nov. 20. The SPU men play the 7 p.m. nightcap each day, playing Cal State East Bay (1-0) on Friday and Dixie State (1-2) on Saturday. Western Washington plays the 3 p.m. opener both days against those same two opponents in reverse order of the Falcons. The SPU women's team is hosting a tournament the same two days with games at 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. This is the first of four tournaments for the Falcons men, two of them in Seattle. SPU won all three of its exhibition games, including road victories over NCAA Division I opponents Eastern Washington and Nevada.

Live Game Coverage
LiveStats and a free webcast will be available for all Sodexo Tip-Off Classic games. The webcast can be accessed at: www.PennAtlantic.com  and the LiveStats are available at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball/index.htm

Ticket Talk
Season tickets for SPU men's basketball games are still available and are a tremendous value, assuring a seat in the best location for every home game. Call 206-281-2085 for ticket information. Individual game tickets can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 Third Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour before tip-off. Reserved seats for are $8 for center court locations and $7 for other sideline areas. General admission tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special GA rates by calling (206) 281-2085 at least 72 hours in advance. SPU students and staff are admitted free with i.d.



Canned Food Drive
In conjunction with the Tip-Off Classic, tournament sponsor Sodexo annually conducts a canned food drive. Fans attending the game are encouraged to bring canned food items and place them in the collection barrels located inside Brougham Pavilion. Sodexo USA (www.sodexoUSA.com) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States. The Sodexo Foundation (www.helpstophunger.org) is an independent charitable organization that is leading the fight against hunger by supporting initiatives that focus on eliminating the root causes of hunger in the U.S.

Notable
The SPU men were ranked No. 7 nationally among NCAA Division II teams in The Sporting News preseason poll and No. 10 in the preseason NABC coaches poll ... Senior point guard Chris Banchero was a first-team preseason All-America pick by TSN. He was the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference and West Region Player of the Year ... Transfers Andy Poling (6-11, Gonzaga) and Modou Niang (6-10, Utah State) are the tallest tandem in SPU history ... Four of SPU's top-six scorers are back and returning players accounted for 58 percent of last-year's points.

Exhibition Recap
Senior Chris Banchero reached the 30-point plateau in all three games, leading SPU to a 3-0 exhibition record. The Falcons registered a pair of victories over NCAA Division I opponents. They won 87-82 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 2) led by Banchero's 38 points and nine assists. He led SPU to an 84-81 win with 33 points at Nevada (Nov. 6). Banchero scored 30 and Andy Poling added 20 points and 16 rebounds in an 88-76 home win over Northwest University (Nov. 9).

Scouting Cal State East Bay (1-0)
> The Pioneers are second-year NCAA Division II competitors after competing in the NAIA prior to 2009-10. The school was formerly called Cal State Hayward.

> CSUEB opened the season with a 68-65 overtime home win over Academy of Art.

> The Falcons won last year's encounter 89-60 in Hayward, Calif.

> Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 1-0 record against the Pioneers.

Scouting Dixie State (1-2)
> The Red Storm played last week at the Disney Classic in Anaheim. They beat Alaska Anchorage (75-68) before losing to UC San Diego (57-65) and Lewis (51-61).

> Dixie State is located in St. George Utah and plays in the Pacific West Conference.

> SPU won both previous meetings, defeating Dixie 82-76 on Dec. 20, 2006 in Utah and 71-67 on Dec. 30, 2006 in Seattle.

> Dixie was 20-6 last season, won the PacWest title and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance, losing 71-62 to national champion Cal Poly Pomona.

> Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has never coached against the Red Storm.

2010 Preview
The Seattle Pacific men return three starters from last year's team that posted a 22-6 record and made its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Heading the list of returnees is senior point guard Chris Banchero (Seattle, Wash./O'Dea HS), the reigning GNAC and West Region Player of the Year. Banchero averaged 19.6 points and 2.9 assists while converting 52 percent of his shots from the field. A pair of front-line starters are back; senior Ryan Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) and junior Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison HS). Sweet tallied 10.3 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game in 2010. Anderson averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. The Falcons front line will be bolstered by the addition of two towering transfers from Division I schools. SPU added 6-foot-11 sophomore Andy Poling (Portland, Ore.) from Gonzaga and 6-10 junior Modou Niang (Richard Toll, Senegal) from Utah State.

Defending Champions
SPU captured the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship, it's third in the last five years and the fourth since the GNAC was formed in 2001-02. The Falcons, whose only other outright championship came in 2006, shared the 2002 and 2007 league crowns.

Six-Year Run
The Falcons registered a 126-49 record over the last six seasons, more victories than any Great Northwest Athletic Conference team during that span. SPU compiled a 20-9 record in 2005, 26-6 in 2006, 18-10 in 2007, 21-8 in 2008, 19-10 in 2009 and 22-6 last season. The 126 combined wins are the second-highest six-year total in school history, topped only by a 131-win run from 1997 to 2002. The Falcons competed in six straight NCAA Division II Tournaments (2005-10), advancing to the national semifinals in 2006.

Coaches Poll
Seattle Pacific was picked to repeat as Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball champion in the preseason coaches' poll. The Falcons collected eight of 10 first-place votes and got a pair of seconds en route to a 98-point total. SPU returns three starters from last season's team that captured the GNAC crown with a 13-3 record. Projected to place second by the GNAC coaches, Central Washington received one first-place vote and 88 points. Montana State Billings was selected third (72 points) followed by Alaska Anchorage (71), which picked up the remaining first-place vote. Western Washington holds down the No. 5 spot (64) followed by Northwest Nazarene (48), Saint Martin's (39), Western Oregon (31), Alaska Fairbanks (29) and first-year conference competitor Simon Fraser (10). SPU, which is the poll favorite for the second year in a row, will be gunning for its fifth GNAC title including its fourth in the past six years.

Brilliant Banchero
Senior point guard Chris Banchero was brilliant during the exhibition season, averaging 33.7 points in three outings. He tallied 38 points in a win at Eastern Washington (Nov. 2) and keyed an SPU win at Nevada with 33 points (Nov. 6). Banchero was named the 2010 GNAC and West Region Player of the Year. He posted double-figure points in all but three games last season. Banchero led every SPU scorer 18 times and reached the 20-point plateau on 16 occasions. He poured in a career-high 34 points against Central Washington (Feb. 25). Banchero averaged 19.6 points to rank No. 2 in the conference. He led all GNAC scorers during league games with 21.1 points per game.

Magnificent Marksmen
The Falcons combined to shoot 50.8 percent from the field last season, the fourth-best figure among NCAA Division II teams. They finished the 2009 campaign as the nation's second-best shooting squad at 51.8 percent. SPU shot at or above 50 percent 17 times last year, topped by a 66-percent effort against Carroll College (Dec. 4). They won 14 of 15 games when eclipsing the 50% plateau. The SPU men were undefeated in 20 games when their field goal shooting was superior to opponents.

Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney led Seattle Pacific to a 22-6 record in 2010 and became the first coach to direct the Falcons to a conference championship in his inaugural season. Looney, who led his alma mater Eastern Oregon University to the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Division II Tournament, was hired May 26, 2009 as the coach at SPU. He won his opening nine games on the SPU sidelines, the first coach to win more than his first three for the Falcons. Looney, 35, has a 117-61 (.657) career record and was voted the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. He compiled a 95-55 record in five seasons with Eastern Oregon and directed EOU to back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.

2010 Review
Coach Ryan Looney directed SPU to a 22-6 record, its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 18 final ranking during his first season. He was named the 2010 GNAC Coach of the Year and Chris Banchero was the conference and West Region Player of the Year. The Falcons posted a first-place mark of 13-3 in league play. They lost 76-72 to BYU-Hawaii in the first round of the playoffs in Bellingham, Wash. One of SPU's signature victories was a 78-72 home win on Dec. 5 over that same BYU-Hawaii squad that was ranked No. 1 at the time. The Falcons will look to replace two starters, All-GNAC honorable mention guard Brandon Larrieu and forward Rob Diederichs, who set a new conference single-game record with 19 assists on Feb. 25.